1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spice container and holding assembly that includes a holder for at least one spice container, and wherein each spice container includes a removable closure body. The assembly uses magnetic forces to seal the at least one spice container and to hold the at least one spice container in the holder. The closure body is secured detachably to the holder. Each spice container is removable with one hand by a user from the holder, the holder being attachable to a fixed support.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most modern kitchens have spice racks, shelves or table top arrangements that are equipped with simple spice shakers or spice containers that generally have a closure cap for sealing a spice therein.
In prior art spice containers, the closure body is screwed onto the neck of the spice container or slipped onto it. In spice containers with screwed-on closure bodies, manipulation of the container is made difficult by the necessity of screwing the closure body onto the container and then unscrewing it from the container when it is to be used. Known slipped-on or pushed-on closure bodies have the disadvantage that they do not close tightly, which leads to a loss of aroma of the spices.
German Patent Disclosure DE-U1 89 06 736 discloses a spice container for use in a spice rack that can be removed from the spice rack with one hand; the container has an outlet opening that also can be opened with one hand. German Patent Disclosure DE-U1 89 06 736, however, achieves this result with a rather complicated relatively fragile and expensive lever flap system. Another disadvantage of the device disclosed in German Patent Disclosure DE-U1 89 06 736 is that the arrangement therein has a very uneven surface and therefore, on the one hand, easily collects dust and dirt, and on the other hand, is difficult to clean. This is a particularly important disadvantage in a kitchen environment where cleanliness can be a measure of a housekeeper's efficiency and diligence.
In another prior art spice container, known from German Patent Disclosure DE-GM 81 04 395, a rack is provided with built-in lid recesses for holding the spice containers. This arrangement has the disadvantages that the spice containers are practically impossible to detach from the rack for use and that the spice containers cannot be tightly closed. The fact that the lid recesses for holding the spice containers in this prior art apparatus are located in the rack, also fixes the maximum number of spice containers that the rack can hold from the very outset.
Moreover, German Patent Disclosure DE-GM 81 04 395 provides a holder (rack) that can only be attached to the container in a stationary fashion. In said German Patent Disclosure DE-GM 81 04 395 the holder is provided with female threads on its underside, into which respectively the spice containers, which have a corresponding male thread, are screwed.
As noted above, disadvantages of German Patent Disclosure DE-GM 81 04 395 are that the spice containers are very difficult to detach from the rack for use at a table, and that the spice containers cannot be closed tightly to prevent loss of aroma. If the spice containers are screwed on tightly to try to prevent loss of aroma, then they will require a good deal of effort to unscrew.